Soft-mud-brick machine.



zmt v %%W J. P. MARTIN.

SOFT MUD BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED {AN-30.1914.

1,192,444. Patented July 25,1916.

UNITED STATES PATENT sins.

JAMES P. MARTIN, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CLAY MACHINERY COMPANY, OF BUCYRUS, OHIO, CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SOFT-MUD-BRICK MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 30, 1914. Serial No. 815,533.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES P. MARTIN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Soft-Mud-Brick Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to so-called soft mud brick machines, and its object is to improve and perfect the work of such machines, particularly to form the molded brick made by said machine more firmly, compactly, and perfectly than heretofore.

It is also an object of my present invention to provide automatic apparatus, which may be applied to any existing type of soft mud brick machine, and which will automatically work, compress, and roll the brick as it issues from the mold press, while still in the molds into which it has been expressed, so as to force the brick material firmly and solidly into the edges and corners of each mold.

In the operation of a soft mud brick machine, an empty mold adaptedto form five to seven brick is pushed under the press box of the machine, receives the charge of brick material forced into it by the action of the plunger in the press box, and then is pushed out by the succeeding empty mold as it is fed under the press box. The filled mold, a'vhen pushed out from under the press box, has the surface of the brick roughly leveled by the front edgeof the die or other fixed part, but is never struck entirely clean. Also, as the brick material in the mold has been forced therein by considerable pressure when under the press box, and is relieved of that pressure as it is ejected, the surface of the brick material in each mold tends to spring upwardly or react, taking a convex mobile, is drawn away from the side of its respective mold by the action of the strikeknife, thus necessarily tending to deform the buck and producing an imperfect article.

It is an important object of my present invention to eliminate the strike-knife operation, to do away entirely with the extra attendants required to perform such striking operation, and furthermore to insure the making of perfect brick in each mold, by entirely automatic mechanism. I accomplish this result by providing means to act on the top of the brick material in each mold, as the mold is ejected from under the press box, by working, kneading, or rolling the top surface of the brick material either forwardly or backwardly, preferably both, eliminating entirely the striking operation and, instead, compressing the clay material back into the mold and rolling it firmly, evenly and compactly into the corners and against the sides of the mold. Thus I pro vide automatic means to work and force back into each mold substantially all the brick material which was originally forced therein when under the press box of the machine, and even to force any surplus material left on top of the mold into the mold so as to form the brick more solidly, more compactly, and more perfectly than when the mold was originally filled.

Further features of the invention, novel combinations of parts and details of construction will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, Figure 1 is a side view of a fragment of a soft mud brick machine showing the press box, mold carriage, and adja- 9 cent parts, Fig. 2 a plan view, with the press box omitted; and Fig. 3 is an end view of the roller of my apparatus.

In carrying out my presentinvention, I may utilize any of the well known types of soft mud brick machines. In this type of machine, as, is well known, a reciprocating carriage moving to and fro under the press box of the machine, forces an empty mold under the press box, then moves backwardly while the empty mold is being filled, and a second empty mold is slid by the attendant into the machine back of the mold being filled, then the forward movement of the carriage, abutting against the empty mold and sliding it sidewise against the mold which has already been filled, ejects thel'atter from under the press box and forces the new empty mold in position, the carriage again retracting to allow space for the next empty mold to be positioned.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a portion of a brick machine with the usual press mold 2 in front, in which a movable plunger 3 acts to force the piston 4, indicated in dotted lines, to express the brick 'material forced into the press box 2, when the piston 4 is depressed downwardly through a jack die 5, also indicated in dotted lines, and" into a mold underneath the same. The mold table 6 on which themolds are positioned, supported and slid, is directly underneath the machine and the press box, and a sliding carriage 7 is adapted to be reeiprocated to and fro across the table in any suitable andwell known manner. A brick mold 8 carrying a plurality of compartments 9 is slid by the operator on the table 6 underneath the machine 1 when the carriage 7 is in retracted position (see Figs; 1 and 2). The

forward movement of the carriage 7 causesits front edge 10 to strike against the rear wall 11 of the first mold 8 which has been slid in place, and moves the same forwardly to the-position shown by the second mold 12 underthe press box. The carriage 7 isthen retracted, and a second empty mold positioned, and meanwhile the plunger 3 depresses the piston 4, forcing out the brick materialv which has been previously forced into the press box 2 and filling the brickmold-compa'rt'ments 9 in the mold 12. The carriage 7, then moving forwardly, abuts against the second empty brick mold, forcing it into position under the press and ejecting the mold 12, pushing it outwardly in the position indicated by't-he filled mold 13 containing the molded bricks 14:. It is while in this position that the striking operation was formerly necessary, an operator or operators using the strike-knife to level off the tops of the bricks 14 and to remove the surplus material therefrom. In carrying out my invention, 1' affix to the carriage 7 short studs 15', 15, to which are pivotally secured links 16 and 17 respectively, each" having its outer end pivotal-ly secured to trunnions-IS and- 19 respectively of a roller 20., This roller is of suflicient length to extend longitudinally across the molds and to bear upon the top of the bricks 14 in each mold as'the filled mold is ejected from under the press box 2.' The links 16 and 17' will impart to the roller 20 a to-and-fro reciprocation exactly similar to that of the carriage 7. Accordingly, as a brick mold 1s ejected from under the press box 2}, and the carriage 7' then moves backwardly to make room for the next mold",- the roller 20' will be retracted and rolled across the surface of the brick 14 in the mold which has just been ejected. Preferably I arrange the lengths of the links 16 and 17, so that when the carriage 7 is at the backward limit of its retracted movement, the roller 20 will rest substantially across the middle of the brick mold which has just been ejected. This is the posit-ion illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but I also desire to provide a means for adjusting the length of these links, and may arrange each link in two parts connected by a turn buckle, so they may be lengthened or shortened at will. Then as the next empty mold 8 is positioned by the operator and the carriage 7 begins its forward move ment, the links 16 and 17 will cause the roller 20 to move forwardly until the front 10 of the carriage contacts with the rear wall 11 of the new mold, or until the new mold 8-is forced into contact with the mold 12 which has just been filled. This free play or distance, before the carriage 7 will act to move forwardly the filled and ejected mold 13, is sufiicient to cause the roller 20 to have a forwardly rolling action for half the length of the brick in the mold 13. During the further forward movement of the carriage 7, forcing the new empty mold 8 into position under the press 2 and forcing the filled and partially rolled mold 13 into the extreme forward position indicated by the mold at 21, the roller 20 will, of course, have no relative action on the brick 11 in the mold 13, but will rest at the forward limit of its first movement, practically on the front edge of the mold '13. Thenas the carriage 7 begins its retractive movement, the roller 20 willbe drawn back entirely across the surface of the brick 14 in the mold 13 and halfway across the adjacent mold now filled with brick material, to the position substantially midway thereon, as shown in- Figs. 1 and 2. The mold, when at the extreme forward position shown at 21, is removed by the attendant, being first slid back and forth against the bumpers 22 and 23 in wellknown manner.

As mentioned above, I may arrange each link 16 and 17 in two parts, with the abutting end portions of each part threaded and united by a turn buckle 24:, the threaded portions being arranged so that rotation of the turn buckle will act to shorten 'or to lengthen the length of the link. This provision is important in enabling the roller 20 to be adjusted, relatively with the molded brick 14 so as to conform with different sizes of molds which may be used in the same machine or for other purposes.

It will thus be seen that my invention pro- Vides automatic means to knead, compress and roll the brick material backwardly and forwardly when in the molds, forming a perfect, square, sharp-corner brick and one originally forced into the mold. The weight of the roller 20 is preferably suliicient to perform this compressing, kneading action, and the weight of the links 16, 17 being also partially borne by the roller, adds somewhat to the weight of the roller itself. The rolling of the brick, being performed immediately after the same issue from the press, is readily effected, as the material has not had time to set, although when the rolling is completed the brick material is sufficiently dry to maintain its accurately molded shape, with its corners and edges square and sharp. The further advantage that the invention can be quickly applied to any existing soft mud brick machine without expensive alterations is so important, and the entire elimination of the striking action, which tended necessarily to deform each brick, and the elimination of the necessity for additional operatives is of the greatest practical ad vantage. The action of the roller is entirely automatic, and its kneading action, forwardly and backwardly, is most efiicientin 1gompleting, finishing and perfecting the rick. I

While I have illustrated the roller 20 as aflixed to the carriage 7 and therefore as reciprocating to and fro over the molded brick as the same are pushed from under the press box 2, it is, of course, feasible to have the roller 20 held stationary, relatively with the machine and simply rely upon its rolling action one way across the molded brick 14:, although I prefer to have the roller move forwardly and backwardly over the brick as above explained and as herein illustrated, this being the best form of the invention at present developed. 7

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a soft mud brick ilopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

machine having mechanism to press plastic brick material into a plurality of movable molds, means to automatically move said molds when filled away from the pressing mechanism, of means actuated by said moldmoving mechanism to additionally compress and compact the brick material in said molds by working backwardly and forwardly over the surface of the brick material in the molds.

2. The combination with a soft mud brick machine having mechanism to press plastic brick material into a plurality of movable molds, a reciprocating carriage adapted to remove filled molds from under the pressing mechanism, of a yieldable roller adapted to move backwardly and forwardly over the facemof the brick material in said molds to constitute an additional compressing and compacting device, said roller being actuated by the reciprocatingmovements of the said carriage.

3. The combination with a soft mud brick machine having mechanism to press plastic brick material into a plurality of movable molds, a reciprocating carriage adapted to move molds into position under the pressing mechanism and to remove the filled molds therefrom while re-positioning other molds under the pressing mechanism, of a yieldable roller adapted to move backwardly and forwardly over the face of the brick material in said, molds to constitute an additional compressing and compacting device, said roller being actuated by the reciproeating movements of the said carriage.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES P. MARTIN. l/Vitnesses:

WVM. P. ISRAEL, LEONARD BIGALOW.

Washington, D. C. 

